Need For Cross-Training

Tel (651) 296-2551
Fax (651) 296-4755
TDD (800) 627-3529

525 Park Street, Suite 500, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103

In small public entities, sometimes only one person is primarily responsible for handling financial matters. This concentration of duties in one individual is not desirable from an accounting point of view.

One measure to help counter this weakness involves training a second person in the specific duties related to the entity’s finances. “Cross-training” has numerous benefits. It allows a second person to perform the duties when the employee primarily responsible is unavailable. Having someone else perform the job duties also provides a method of detecting errors and/or irregularities created by the person primarily responsible for those duties. Finally, cross-training provides continuity during periods of employee transitions. Cross-training offers advantages from both an accounting and a management point of view.